How Does the Concept of “Pruning” Allow a Full Node to save Storage Space?

Pruning is a feature that allows a full node to discard the historical transaction data of fully spent UTXOs once they have been verified and confirmed. The node retains only the block headers and the current, unspent UTXO set (UTXO database).

This drastically reduces the required disk space, as the vast majority of blockchain data consists of spent transaction outputs. Pruned nodes still contribute to network security by validating new blocks.